The
National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) hosted the first ever “Top Tech”
competition to crown the best fire sprinkler system layout technicians at its
2007 Annual Seminar & Exhibition on May 4. Team Florida won the
competition.
Rudd Milam, Ray Vance, Ricardo Vasquez, and Gene Grant of Team
Florida defeated Team Northeast (consisting of Brian Baima, Michael Mackey, and
Marc Ruggiero) in the game show format competition.
“This competition was a great opportunity for fire sprinkler layout technicians
throughout North America to showcase their skills and knowledge,” said John
Viniello, president of NFSA. “It also proved to be an entertaining event for
both the competitors and the crowd, while demonstrating the NFSA’s commitment
to continued education throughout the industry. Congratulations to Team Florida
on their victory.”
In order to qualify for the competition, contestants were required to take an
open book exam on NFPA 13 (the National Fire Protection Association’s standard
for the installation of fire sprinkler systems) at various locations around the
country in January. These regions included Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast,
Florida, North Central, Mid-West, South Central, Great Plains, Mountain and
Southwest, West, Pacific Northwest, and Canada. The top scorers from each
designated region joined together as a team consisting of three players, and in
some cases one alternate.